DO YOU NEED A STAPLER ON A BOAT?

As we plow through our belongings trying to decide what stays and what goes, I curse a lot. I've never lived on a boat. I think of it as glorified camping, but what do I REALLY need to get by?

90% of our "necessary" land things are easy to eliminate: books we've read or never will; glass candleholders; stupid kitchen gadgets; decorative wall crap; refrigerator magnets; lawn chairs; shovels; tennis rackets (did anyone ever play?); roller blades; it goes on and on.

But some things truly puzzle me.

--Dictionary? Tough one. Of course, there's the internet, but we won't have consistent connection. My laptop has a dictionary on the hard drive, but does anything really replace a good, old paper dictionary?
--Tea kettle? Maybe that's just silly if a saucepan works just as well. On other hand, it's a lot safer to heat water in an enclosed vessel in rough water. On the third hand, maybe I shouldn't be heating water in rough seas.
--Blankets? We'll usually be in warm weather, but what about picnics, cool night breezes.
--Pillows? How many do we need. I know how many we need for the two of us, but how many guests are we likely to have at one time? Should we have a BYOP rule?

This all sounds ridiculous, even to me. and yet, these are the things that go through my head. "Necessities," no. But neither are we interested in living a spartan life, just a lean one.

Some days it's fun to ponder. Some days, I want to pitch it all in the dumpster -- dictionary, pillows and all -- and get the heck outta here.

TODAY'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
--Went to the beach. a great reminder of why we're doing all this!